Human body cover with medical accident prevention function

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a human body cover wherein a human body cover main unit such as a quilt or a blanket is divided into a plurality of parts in a longitudinal direction thereof, and the divided parts are detachably formed to overlap in such a manner that the part closer to an upper side of a human body is positioned on the top of the part subsequent thereto, whereby the intravenous drip administered part can be exposed and a condition of the drip infusion can be checked without pulling off the human body cover main unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a human body cover intended for use inmedical institutions, wherein a human body cover main unit is dividedinto a plurality of parts in a longitudinal direction thereof, and thefact that the human body cover main unit is wet is proved at a glancewhen it is wet for some reason, thereby providing a function to preventaccidents due to coming off of a drip infusion or the like in themedical institutions or in households with a person who needs care.

2. Description of the Related Art

In medical institutions, there have heretofore exist specially-designedbeds but no specially-designed quilts, so that the quilts used in themedical institutions are totally the same as conventional ones forhousehold use. Thus, when an intravenous drip injection is given to apatient, a health care worker needs, for the purpose of accidentprevention, to pull the quilt off the sleeping patient even at night inorder to check whether or not a drip infusion line has come off.However, it is painful for anyone including those after surgery or thosehaving a disease to be awaken by having the quilt pulled off many timesat night. Alternatively, the health care worker can only recognize thatthe accident has not occurred by forcing the patient to sleep while apart where the intravenous drip is administered is placed out on thequilt. However, if a hand or leg is left lying on the quilt, this partis exposed to an outside air to cause the patient to feel cold andinsecure, which is painful for the patient after the surgery or havingthe disease. Especially when the intravenous drip is administered into aforearm, a shoulder has also to be exposed on the quilt together withthe forearm, which can cause stiffness or a pain in the shoulder due tothe cold. Not only having the quilt pulled off but also sleeping while apart of a body is placed on the quilt is painful for the patient.

A prior art to enhance safety in the intravenous drip includes aninvention that has been achieved to provide a simple and reliable methodof detecting a condition of a drip infusion in order to ensure that thehealth care worker can be informed thereof, to remove the insecurity ofthe patient and to reduce burdens on nurses and the patient. (JapanesePatent Publication Laid-open No. 09-024094 (detailed description,drawings))

However, in the aforementioned invention, the patient needs to report byhimself on a condition of a blood transfusion, and, for example, whenthe patient is asleep, the health care workers still need to pull offthe quilt to check the drip infusion line under the quilt.

Furthermore, an arm heat-retaining device used during the intravenousdrip administration has been invented wherein when the intravenous dripis administered in an arm, the entire arm is kept warm by covering itwith a heat-retaining cover such as the quilt or a blanket, and the armis also actively warmed up, so that a pain can be more relived when theintravenous drip at room temperature is administered into a blood vesselat the arm while it is possible to prevent accidental displacement of aneedle or a tube of a drip infusion due to contact with theheat-retaining cover. (Japanese Patent Publication Laid-open No.2001-095916 (detailed description, drawings))

In the aforementioned invention, when the drip infusion line is set upat the arm or leg, the burden on the patient due to, for example, coldcan be reduced even if that part where the drip infusion line is set upis exposed. However, as in the invention of Patent document 1, forexample, when the patient is asleep, the health care workers still needto pull off the quilt to check the condition of the drip infusion lineunder the quilt, or the part where the intravenous drip is administeredhas to be left exposed for the check, resulting in no reduction in theburdens on the patient and the health care worker.

As described above, when the patient is asleep, there is no choice butto pull off the quilt or leave the intravenous drip administered partexposed so as to check the current condition of the drip infusion line,and therefore, there is not any method to check the drip infusion linewhich reduces the burdens on the patient and the health care worker.Consequently, in many medical institutions, the health care workers areonly mentally encouraged to be careful to prevent accidents, and evenwhen it is impossible to check whether abnormalities have occurredbecause the part where the intravenous drip is administered is actuallyhidden under the quilt, a checking operation may not performedconsidering on the basis of experience and speculation that noabnormalities have occurred. This is the best course of action that thehealth care workers can take so that the patient will not be awaken andsuffer by having the quilt pulled off at night, but behind this, severalmedical accidents have actually occurred leading to death due to thefact that the drip infusion line has come off in an invisible area underthe quilt.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is thus a need in medical institutions for a specially-designedquilt which, when, for example, a intravenous drip is administered,reduces a burden on a patient and which prevents accidents resultingfrom disconnection of a juncture which is a drip infusion line due tosome mechanism that happens in a invisible area under a quilt.

It is an object of the invention to provide a quilt which reduces a partexposed when a drip infusion is checked so as to relieve the burden onthe patient, for example, during the intravenous drip administration andwhich is provided with a portion to enable the drip infusion line to bedirectly observed in order to prevent the accidents resulting from thedisconnection of the juncture which is the drip infusion line due tosome mechanism that happens in the invisible area.

To solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides ahuman body cover wherein a human body cover main unit such as a quilt ora blanket is divided into a plurality of parts in a longitudinaldirection thereof, and the divided parts are detachably formed tooverlap in such a manner that the part closer to an upper side of ahuman body is positioned on the top of the part subsequent thereto,whereby the intravenous drip administered part can be exposed and acondition of the drip infusion can be checked without pulling off thehuman body cover main unit.

Furthermore, the human body cover according to claim 1 is providedwherein the divided parts of the human body cover main unit are formedso that an arm can be at least partially or totally exposed, therebymaking it possible to check the condition of the drip infusion at thearm where the intravenous drip is often administered, without pullingoff the human body cover main unit.

Furthermore, the human body cover according to claim 1 is providedwherein the divided parts of the human body cover main unit are formedso that a leg can be at least partially or totally exposed, therebymaking it possible to check the condition of the drip infusion at theleg where the intravenous drip is often administered similarly to thearm, without pulling off the human body cover main unit.

Furthermore, the human body cover according to claim 1, 2 or 3 isprovided wherein through-holes are provided in the parts of the humanbody cover main unit corresponding to right and left subclavians and/orto right and left femoral inguinal regions, thereby making it possibleto check the condition of the drip infusion at the right and leftsubclavians and/or the right and left femoral inguinal regions where thedrip infusion line to a large vessel is often set up, without pullingoff the human body cover main unit.

Furthermore, the human body cover according to claim 1, 2 or 3 isprovided wherein a transparent airbag is detachably installed into thethrough-hole, in order to make it possible to check the condition of thedrip infusion at the right and left subclavians and/or the right andleft femoral inguinal regions without exposing a body of the patient toan outside air.

Furthermore, the human body cover according to claim 1, 2 or 3 isprovided wherein non-transparent hole closing members are detachablyinstalled into the through-holes other than the through-hole into whichthe transparent airbag is installed, so that the body of the patient isnot unnecessarily exposed to the outside air.

Furthermore, the human body cover according to claim 1, 2 or 3 isprovided wherein the transparent airbag has a multi-layer structure toincrease a warmth retaining property, which allows the patient to sufferless when the intravenous drip is checked.

Furthermore, the human body cover according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or7 is provided wherein a sheet comprising a water absorption sensorfunction is provided on a rear surface of the transparent airbaginstalled in the through-hole, and it is thus possible to recognize aliquid spilled from the disconnected drip infusion line under the humanbody cover even if the liquid is colorless.

Furthermore, the human body cover according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or7 is provided wherein the sheet comprising the water absorption sensorfunction is processed to change color or produce a colored pattern whenit is wet, and it is thus possible to more clearly recognize the liquidspilled from the disconnected drip infusion line under the human bodycover even if the liquid is colorless.

The human body cover main unit is divided into the plurality of parts inthe longitudinal direction thereof, and this provides such advantagesthat a hand or leg can be put out from under the corresponding dividedpart, that medical practices such as the intravenous drip administrationin a medical field can be easily implemented, and that reading can beeasily enjoyed in a recumbent posture, for example, in generalhouseholds.

In particular, the human body cover main unit is divided into theplurality of parts in the longitudinal direction thereof, so that theintravenous drip administered part can only be exposed by pulling offthe divided part of the human body cover main unit to check thecondition of the drip infusion, thereby making it possible to reduce theburden caused by leaving the intravenous drip administered part exposedor the burden on the patient such as disturbance of a good sleep causedby having the human body cover pulled off during sleep.

Furthermore, the divided parts are detachably formed to overlap in sucha manner that the part closer to a upper side of a human body ispositioned on the top of the part subsequent thereto, which allows thedivided parts to be modified to suit a body shape of the patient.

The through-holes are provided in the parts of the human body cover mainunit corresponding to the right and left subclavians and/or to the rightand left femoral inguinal regions, so that it is possible to recognizeat a glance the condition of the drip infusion at the right and leftsubclavians and/or the right and left femoral inguinal regions where thedrip infusion line to the large vessel is often set up, without pullingoff the human body cover main unit or without actually touching a wetportion when the human body cover main unit has gotten wet for somereason, resulting in a reduction of the burden on the health careworkers as well as the burden on the patient. Moreover, the dripinfusion line under the human body cover can be frequently checked, andeven when an accident has occurred to cause bleeding due to thedisconnection of the drip infusion line, it can be early detected andimmediately dealt with, and it can thus be expected to prevent medicalaccidents due to the disconnection of the drip infusion line in theinvisible area under the human body cover and to improve safety.

The transparent airbag is detachably installed into the through-hole, sothat when the drip infusion line is set up at any one of the positionscorresponding to the right and left subclavians and/or the right andleft femoral inguinal regions, it is possible to check the condition ofthe part where the drip infusion line is set up without exposing thebody of the patient to the outside air, and the burden on the patientdue to, for example, cold can be reduced. Moreover, the transparentairbag is made detachable, so that even if the drip infusion line is setup in a different manner at these positions corresponding to the rightand left subclavians and/or the position corresponding to the right andleft femoral inguinal regions, the transparent airbag can be installedsuitably to where the drip infusion line is set up.

The non-transparent hole closing members are detachably installed intothe through-holes other than the through-hole into which the transparentairbag is installed, so that parts of the body of the patient other thana part where the drip infusion line is set up are not unnecessarilyshown or exposed to the outside air, which can reduce the burden on thepatient both physically and mentally.

The transparent airbag has the multi-layer structure to increase thewarmth retaining property, which allows the patient to suffer much lessfrom the cold from the through-holes.

Furthermore, the sheet comprising the water absorption sensor functionis used on the rear surface of the transparent airbag installed in thethrough-hole, so that for example, when the drip infusion line isdisconnected under the human body cover main unit to cause wetting forsome reason, for example, due to the spilled liquid, it is possible torecognize at a glance this part without actually touching it even if theliquid is colorless and transparent, and it can be early detected andimmediately dealt with, thus making it possible to expect the preventionof medical accidents and the improved safety.

Furthermore, the sheet comprising the water absorption sensor functionis processed to change color or produce the colored pattern when it iswet, and it is thus possible to easily recognize a change even when thedrip infusion line is disconnected under the human body cover to causethe wetting for some reason, for example, due to the spilled of theliquid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a human body cover showing one example of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the human body cover showing one example of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the human body cover showing one exampleof the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a transparent disk-shaped airbag havingthree layers showing one example of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an example of using the transparentdisk-shaped airbag having the three layers, showing one example of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view in which connections of the human bodycover are velcro straps, showing one example of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view in which the connections of the human bodycover are snap fasteners, showing one example of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view in which the connections of the human bodycover are the velcro straps, showing one example of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a use in one example of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a use in one example of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One example of the present invention will be described with reference tothe drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a human body cover showing one example of thepresent invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the human body cover showingone example of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view ofthe human body cover showing one example of the present invention. FIG.4 is a perspective view of a transparent disk-shaped airbag having threelayers showing one example of the present invention. FIG. 5 is asectional view of an example of using the transparent disk-shaped airbaghaving the three layers, showing one example of the present invention.FIG. 6 is a perspective view in which connections of the human bodycover are velcro straps, showing one example of the present invention.FIG. 7 is a perspective view in which the connections of the human bodycover are snap fasteners, showing one example of the present invention.FIG. 8 is a perspective view in which the connections of the human bodycover are the velcro straps, showing one example of the presentinvention. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a use in one example of thepresent invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a use in one example ofthe present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a portion 2 to be hooked on a neck is provided in ahuman body cover main unit 1 at a position corresponding to an upperside of a human body. When the human body cover main unit 1 is put overthe human body, a head comes out from the portion 2 to be hooked on theneck. This reduces exposure of shoulders and can increase aheat-retaining effect in the shoulders at night.

The human body cover main unit 1 is divided into a plurality of parts ina longitudinal direction thereof, for example, into a divided part 4 anda divided part 5, and the divided part 4 and the divided part 5 areformed so that they can be connected to overlap in such a manner thatthe part closer to the upper side of the human body is positioned on thetop of the part subsequent thereto.

The divided part 4 of the human body cover main unit 1 is formed so thatan arm can be at least partially or totally exposed and so that when adrip infusion line is set up at the arm, a check can be made only bypulling off this divided part without pulling off the entire human bodycover or without leavening the part where the drip infusion line is setup exposed.

The divided part 5 of the human body cover main unit 1 is formed so thatan leg can be at least partially or totally exposed and so that when adrip infusion line is set up at the leg, a check can be made only bypulling off this divided part without pulling off the entire human bodycover or without leavening the part where the drip infusion line is setup exposed.

For example, the velcro straps shown in FIG. 6 or the snap fastenersshown in FIG. 7, that is, detachable connection means are used forconnections 4 a and 5 a of the divided parts.

Through-holes 3 are provided in the parts of the human body cover mainunit 1 corresponding to right and left subclavians and/or to right andleft femoral inguinal regions, and are arranged so that a check can bemade without pulling off the human body cover when the drip infusionline is set up at the part corresponding to the right and leftsubclavians or the right and left femoral inguinal regions.

A sheet comprising a water absorption sensor function is provided on arear surface of the transparent airbag installed in the through-hole ofthe human body cover 1. For example, a pattern emerging printed material(manufactured by Hiramatsu Sangyo Corporation) or a color changingprinted material (Hiramatsu Sangyo Corporation) is used for the sheetcomprising the water absorption sensor function. The former patternemerging printed material (manufactured by Hiramatsu Sangyo Corporation)appears to have no pattern in a dry state, but it is a sheet which hasbeen subjected to a printing process so that a pattern emerges when itis wet. The latter color changing printed material (Hiramatsu SangyoCorporation) is a sheet which has been subjected to a printing processso that the color changes when a portion subjected to the printingprocess is wet. The sheet comprising these water absorption sensorfunctions is used, so that in a case where an accident occurs in whichthe drip infusion line is disconnected when the drip infusion line isset up at the part corresponding to the right and left subclaviansand/or the right and left femoral inguinal regions, it is possible torecognize from the through-holes 3 a spilled liquid even if the liquidis colorless and transparent unlike colored blood.

A detachable transparent airbag 6 is installed into one of thethrough-holes 3 which corresponds to the part where the drip infusionline is set up, in order to make it possible to check a condition of thedrip infusion line without exposing a body of the patient directly to anoutside air. The airbag 6 and the through-hole 3 are provided with adetachable connection 6 a and a detachable connection 3 a such as thevelcro straps.

Non-transparent hole closing members 7 are detachably installed into thethrough-holes 3 other than the through-hole 3 into which the transparentairbag 6 is installed, so as to prevent the body of the patient frombeing exposed directly to the outside air and from being shown. Thenon-transparent hole closing member 7 is made of the same material asthat of the human body cover and sized equally to the through-hole 3,for example. The non-transparent hole closing member 7 and thethrough-hole 3 are provided with a detachable connection 7 a and thedetachable connection 3 a such as the velcro straps in the same manneras the airbag 6.

The transparent airbag 6 is provided with a plurality of intermediatelayers 6 a and has a multi-layer structure, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.5. Having the multi-layer structure increases the heat-retaining effectand allows the patient to suffer less from cold from the through-hole 3.

EMBODIMENT 1

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a use in one example of the presentinvention, which represents an embodiment wherein a drip infusion lineis set up at an arm. As shown in FIG. 9, the arm is placed under anoverlapping portion of a divided part 4 of a human body cover 1 so as toset up the drip infusion line at the arm. This upper divided part may bepulled off to check a condition of the drip infusion line.

The embodiment described above concerns a case where the drip infusionline is set up at the arm, but the drip infusion line is also set up inmany cases at a leg. In this case, the arm is placed under anoverlapping portion of a divided part 5 of the human body cover 1 so asto set up the drip infusion line at the arm. The upper divided part maybe pulled off to check the condition of the drip infusion line.

In addition, the drip infusion line is also set up at right and leftsubclavians and/or right and left femoral inguinal regions. When thedrip infusion line is to be set up at these parts, one of these fourparts is generally chosen to set it up. The human body cover 1 of thepresent invention is put over a patient, and an airbag 4 is installedinto a through-hole 3 corresponding to the part where the drip infusionline is set up. Non-transparent hole closing members 7 are installedinto the other through-holes 3. A bed sheet or bed cover is used underthe human body cover 1 of the present invention, in which case amaterial is used whose color changes when it absorbs water, andtherefore, when the drip infusion line is disconnected, a spilled liquidcan be recognized even if it is transparent. When a check is made atnight, a flashlight is used to light up the airbag 3 installed in thehuman body cover 1 to check whether or not the color has changed.

EMBODIMENT 2

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a use in one example of the presentinvention. This example of usage employs one example of the presentinvention in FIG. 8. A divided part 4 of a human body cover main unit 1is formed so that an arm can be at least partially or totally exposed,and therefore allows a hand to put out from under the correspondingdivided part as shown in FIG. 10, which facilitates reading in arecumbent posture, for example, in general households.

1. A human body cover, wherein a human body cover main unit such as aquilt or a blanket is divided into a plurality of parts in alongitudinal direction thereof, and the divided parts are detachablyformed to overlap in such a manner that the part closer to an upper sideof a human body is positioned on the top of the part subsequent thereto.2. The human body cover according to claim 1, wherein the divided partsof the human body cover main unit are formed so that an arm can bepartially or totally exposed.
 3. The human body cover according to claim1 or 2, wherein the divided parts of the human body cover main unit areformed so that a leg can be partially or totally exposed.
 4. The humanbody cover according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein through-holes areprovided in the parts of the human body cover main unit corresponding toright and left subclavians and/or to right and left femoral inguinalregions.
 5. The human body cover according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein atransparent airbag is detachably installed into the through-hole.
 6. Thehuman body cover according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein non-transparenthole closing members are detachably installed into the through-holesother than the through-hole into which the transparent airbag isinstalled.
 7. The human body cover according to claim 1, 2 or 3, whereinthe transparent airbag has a multi-layer structure.
 8. The human bodycover according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, wherein a sheetcomprising a water absorption sensor function is provided on a rearsurface of the transparent airbag installed in the through-hole.
 9. Thehuman body cover according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, wherein thesheet comprising the water absorption sensor function is processed tochange color or produce a colored pattern when it is wet.